RespectAbility, a disability-led nonprofit that creates systemic change in how society views and values disabled individuals, has launched six in-person intensive sessions geared toward Fellows who are looking for more focused programming and career opportunities in specific creative areas. This is in addition to its flagship RespectAbility Entertainment Lab, currently running its eighth cohort in six years, that elevates disabled creatives, focusing on building community, networking, and career advancement.
“Since piloting the Lab in 2019, the entertainment industry has undergone several changes, and it is important to us that we continuously evolve our programming to best serve the needs of disabled creatives,” said Lab Founder Lauren Appelbaum, Senior Vice President of Entertainment & News Media at RespectAbility. Appelbaum founded the Lab in 2019 with the assistance of RespectAbility Board Vice Chair Delbert Whetter. “Fellows will have the opportunity to delve into a specific area of the industry, including writing for various genres as well as physical production and documentary/unscripted. We are grateful to our studio and production company partners who are hosting the cohorts and providing the expertise and advice needed to succeed.”
“I’m thrilled we continue to expand and refresh our pipeline programming for disabled creatives, as we continue to cultivate a team that is as diverse and dynamic as the industry itself,” said RespectAbility President and CEO Ariel Simms. “Across our pipeline programming, we’re not just training the next generation of creatives and professionals with disabilities; we’re developing leaders who will bring important perspectives to every sector they touch. Our commitment to fostering inclusion and belonging in Hollywood is driving opportunities in front of and behind the camera, ensuring the stories shared on screen are as rich and varied as the audiences who enjoy them.”
The Lab is also supported by RespectAbility’s newest team member, Lawon Exum, who joined last year as RespectAbility’s Entertainment and News Media Director following a decades-long career at Sony Pictures Entertainment, 20th Century Fox, and Arista Records.
“I’m so passionate about giving people a chance to work in an industry where I’ve worked in so many years, knowing that it was hard to get into,” Exum said. “And being able to share my experiences and to give them tips that I wish somebody would have been able to give me, it just brings me joy.”
The six intensives include:
- Writing for Adult Animation, in collaboration with Sony Pictures Entertainment and Warner Bros. Discovery
- Writing for Children’s Animation, in collaboration with Disney Television Animation, DreamWorks Animation, LeVar Burton Entertainment, and PBS KIDS
- Physical Production, in collaboration with Amazon MGM Studios, Sony Pictures Entertainment, and Panavision
- Writing for Drama (TV), in collaboration with ABC Entertainment
- Writing for Comedy (TV), in collaboration with ABC Entertainment
- Documentary and Unscripted, in collaboration with Bunim-Murray Productions, National Geographic, and NBCUniversal
Each intensive includes five Fellows and 3-5 days of programming. Participants include people with physical, cognitive, sensory, mental health, other disabilities, and multiple disabilities ranging in age from the 20s through the 60s.
The individuals who are participating in the intensive cohorts include:
- Ariel Baska, Director, Documentary & Unscripted
- Ava Xiao-Lin Rigelhaupt, TV Writer, Writing for Comedy
- Ben Levin, Director, Physical Production
- Cassie Palmisano, Writer/Director, Children’s Animation
- Chloe Moon, Development, Adult Animation
- Cody Stickels, TV Writer, Children’s Animation
- David Dineen-Porter, TV Writer, Writing for Drama
- Fionntán Price, TV Writer, Adult Animation
- Jane Cripe, TV Writer, Adult Animation
- Jeff Beachnau, Grip, Physical Production
- Jeremy Hsing, TV Writer, Writing for Drama
- Joshua Katz, Film Writer, Adult Animation
- Katherine Craft, TV Writer, Writing for Comedy
- Kimberley Spire-Oh, Director, Documentary & Unscripted
- Liz Galalis, TV Writer, Writing for Comedy
- Maggie Whittum, Producer, Physical Production and Documentary & Unscripted
- Melissa Kong, Writer/Director, Writing for Comedy
- Michael Busza, TV Writer, Writing for Comedy
- Monica Cecilia Lucas, TV Writer, Writing for Drama
- Nandi Bowe, Writer/Director, Physical Production
- Radha Mehta, Director, Documentary & Unscripted
- Rae Greenhoe, Film Writer, Children’s Animation
- Rikki Bleiweiss, TV Writer, Adult Animation
- Robert Burns, Director, Physical Production
- Sabrina “Dossi” Mansfield, Writer/Director, Children’s Animation
- Sandrene Mathews, TV Writer, Writing for Drama
- Stephan Collins-Stepney, TV Writer, Children’s Animation
- Teresa Jusino, TV Writer, Writing for Drama
- Toj Mora, Post-Production, Documentary & Unscripted
The intensives are supported in part by: Amazon MGM Studios, Coverfly, Final Draft, the Golden Globe Foundation, the Harnisch Foundation, Murray/Reese Foundation, NBCUniversal, Sony Pictures Entertainment, the Walt Disney Company, and Warner Bros. Discovery.
Lab alumni currently are working at Netflix, Nickelodeon, Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures Entertainment, The Walt Disney Company, and more, including in a variety of writers’ rooms. Others have had films featured at festivals such as SXSW and participated in additional career track programs including with Film Independent and Sundance Institute.
“Participating in RespectAbility’s Virtual Entertainment Lab in 2020 was my first intro into the film and TV industry, and where I found a community of talented, disabled entertainment professionals,” said comedy writer Ava Xiao-Lin Rigelhaupt. “During the Lab, I gained invaluable connections and knowledge. As a result, I got my first TV writing job! Four years later, I’m beyond elated to be part of another RespectAbility cohort – in LA to boot – as a participant in the Intensive for comedy writers.”
“As an alumna of the RespectAbility Entertainment Lab, I’ve been fortunate to widen my network in this industry of gatekeepers willing to hear and support our stories in both narrative and documentary films,” said Radha Mehta, an alumna of the 2023 Lab who is taking part in this year’s documentary and unscripted intensive. “This intensive is an extension of that with a deeper focus on documentary and unscripted work. I look forward to deepening my knowledge in this work especially when it comes to securing distribution.”
The Lab is a 2020 Roddenberry Foundation Impact Award winner and was the Fan Favorite chosen by The Arc Tank audience for the Northeast Arc’s “The Arc Tank 3.0,” which was created to positively disrupt conventional methods of providing services to people with disabilities.
A team of industry advisors reviewed each 2024 applicant, including: Aisha Becker-Burrowes (Co-Founder, FEMINIST), Christine Cadena (DEIA Expert), Stacie de Armas (SVP, DEI, Diverse Insights, Intelligence & Initiatives, Nielsen), Nicole Go (DEI Content & Production Manager, Amazon MGM Studios), Karen Horne (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Pioneer), Noriko Louison (most recently, Sr. Research and Curriculum Manager, 9 Story Media Group), Kristen McGregor (Showrunner, Director, and Writer of Kids and Family Content), Deirdre Morales (Children’s Media Writer and Supervising Producer at the Loop Lab), Roc Su (Head of Cultural Consulting, Gold House), Nathan Varni (Executive Director of Current Programming, ABC), Delbert Whetter (Chief Operating Officer & Head of Business Affairs, Exodus Film Group and RespectAbility Board Vice Chair), Toby Wong (Marketing & Business Executive), and Alexander Yellen (Director and Director of Photography).
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Realscreen: RespectAbility unveils cohort for new Documentary and Unscripted Intensive
